ultramarine
by Jem Doe
Summary: Rose refuses to dive in and face the dangers of her homeland alone. Jade accompanies her.
1. Chapter 1

**the prompt was "could you do a thing for rose/jade with the 'I'm the mermaid so of course im always picked to go on diving missions by you biased advantage taking pricks, and you know what? i don't care what you say, its dark and scary and theres something down there that i have never forgotten why do you think i stay on land' prompt?" and it became this four chpater mess? anyway chapters are weekly and they get a tad longer as they go, so ya. also: it's been a while since i've read homestuck? let me know if it's ooc or something i have no idea**

"Lalonde, you're going down again. You are, after all, our best diver.", the general said, monotone, and Rose barely blinked. With that one, it'd be the tenth time in three months she'd dive in the Mariana Trench, and as such, it'd be the tenth time she'd have to avoid Them. She had left the sea for a very good reason, and Them were why. The general continued, going to speak with another diver, and Rose took a deep, deep breath.  
"No."  
"Excuse me, Lalonde, I don't think I've quite heard you. No?", the general turned to her, and Harley, by her side, did her best to not watch with curiosity. Which failed, mostly because the way her dog ears turned gave her away.  
"Using the word 'no' is a way of refusing, denying, or dissenting something, as a response to a question or request. Would you like me to continue?"  
"I know very well what 'no' means, Lalonde. You're going down, wether you like it or not."  
Rose cocked her head to the side, a sweet grin taking place in her face.  
"Do you know what's down there, general? Do you have any idea of what could, possible, make a mermaid want to flee her homeland and go to land? I do, and every time you send me back there, I am forced to revive the horrors I have witnessed and be forced to move as silently as I can, as to not disturb Them and Their endless fight. I do not wish to be further subjected to that, and as such, if I must go, I ask for somekind of help. A bodyguard, perhaps."  
The general looked like he wanted to punch something, maybe reconsider Rose's diving capabilities. He turned to Harley.  
"You, go with her, protect Lalonde from the fishes or whatever."  
Harley beamed, and Rose couldn't help but look for a dog tail.  
"Yessir!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, are you two ready?", English, one of Harley's cousins, asked, as he fussed over Rose's microphone set. Rose didn't see the need for one, but alas, the general had said they needed some kind of device to communicate, since Jade wasn't a mermaid too and as such, could not breath or speak underwater. At least the helmet looked sort of cute on her, with the metallic dog ears and all.

"Sure", Harley answered as Rose put her feet on the water, the transformation sticking her legs together as she slipped in, letting her cute bikini top be the only part of her outfit that remained on her body. She moved her heavy, dark purple tail experimentally around as Jade entered the submarine device that would only let her go so far before she'd have to go out to help her collect the samples the general was asking for AND help her evade Them.

"Alright, then go, and have fun!", English called out, and Rose heard a sigh coming from the Strider with ponty shades before diving in to her home.

The trip was supposed to be three hours to go, three hours collecting samples, three hours to come back, if They let the two of them alone. Rose liked the sea, if she was to answer the question. What she didn't enjoy, what made her and many of her own kind run away to become refugees on land, was the fight between the two underwater gods that ravaged homes and ended many lives. If she could, she'd live the rest of her life underwater. Alas…

The microphone crackled on her ear, and Rose made a humming noise to let Harley know she was hearing.

"So, Rose, right? Do you mind if I call you Rose? You can call me Jade!", Harley chirped, and Rose wondered how it was to never see Them in flesh.

"No, not at all.", she answered. "Do you need something?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to hear music, since the ocean is so, you know, quiet and all. I think I could pick up a radio down here, if you want! Sure, if you don't wanna, let me know!"

Rose blinked, surprise washing over her for a moment. She had thought this would be a silent trip to her homeland where she didn't speak and neither would Harley, and instead, Harley proposed… That.

"If you wish to hear music, do it so. As long as it is something calm and that doesn't attract Their attention, it is alright with me.", she answered, and Harley said something affirmative, before turning up some odd happy music that somehow matched the way the currents around the two of them went. Rose smiled to herself, and kept her pace to what humans called the Mariana Trench, also known as her home.w matched the way the currents around the two of them went. Rose smiled to herself, and kept her pace to what humans called the Mariana Trench, also known as her home./p


	3. Chapter 3

"Here we are.", Rose announced over the microphone, looking at the desolated caves that once held life. Jade turned the music that had accompanied them there off, and while she left her submarine, Rose listened for the sound of Their fight, eyes the color of amethysts closed as her ears perked up, listening.

It sounded distant, if she was honest, but underwater, distance was a relative question. They could be five meters to their left, or five kilometers to their right. She couldn't be too precise about it. Rose heard the sound of something heavy being tied to a rock, and ignored it.

"Is that the Them you're always speaking about?", Harley asked, close to Rose. She opened her eyes, finding the other girl floating around. "They're a bit close, I'd say maybe two or three kilometers."

"You can be precise about this?", Rose asked, raising an eyebrow. Jade grinned, and pointed to the metallic dog ears. "Very well. Shall we gather the samples now?"

"Sure!", Harley chirped, and as Rose started swimming towars the place the fish dwell, Harley was behind her. Rose made a point to swim more slowly, letting the human/dog hybrid catch up.

Harley was slowing herself down, however, because she kept looking into every remnant of a home, which made Rose stop and wait until Jade's curiosity was satisfied.

"I don't think I ever saw so many houses together!", she said, and Rose barely blinked her two eyelids. "I used to live in an island, you know? No one around there, sure, but mermaids used to come and go! Too bad they never stayed too much."

"Did they, now?", Rose hummed, gently guiding the other girl to the fish farms, or what had been it. She did have a vague memory of hanging around an island when she was younger, and leaving after her mother had said that if she stayed dry too long, she'd lose her tail forever. A lie, as she had learned later, as Rose struggled to breath air for the first time in years.

She did vaguely remember playing around with some dark-haired girl. However, Harley couldn't be her, since this girl from her childhood didn't have dog ears.

"Yeah! Grandpa thought it was some migratory wave, do you know anything?"

Rose pointed to the hole in a wall, some fish hanging around like they weren't there, and Harley nodded, capturing the fish in a plastic bag produced fro somewhere in the heavy diving outfit. Rose put her claws out, and started hunting what once was her only source of protein, drowning the memory of an island that had disappeared off the maps.


	4. Chapter 4

"I think we've captured enough samples.", Rose said, looking at the anglerfish in her hands as she handed it to Harley. "Shall we go back?"

"Sure!", Harley beamed, a moment before Rose noticed one of Them, the Dark One, behind her, Its dark form even darker as she had last remembered. Harley probably noticed the look of panic in Rose's face, and turned back.

The Dark One bared Its fangs to Harley. Harley stuck a finger in Its nose.

"Bad dog! Bad, bad dog! Back, back!"

It looked confused at Harley, and Rose blinked quickly as It actually obeyed. Sure, It did not obey the screams of her people for Their fight to stop, but It obeyed the commands of a human? The world was a confusing place.

The Light One appeared, and Harley growled to It.

"Both of you, back off, I'm trying to science up here!"

They looked at each other and did as told. Jade turned back to Rose, who was still baffled.

"Let's go?"

Silence filled Rose's ears, the exact same silence that she hadn't heard underwater since her childhood, before they had fled to land. They growled at each other, and Harley sushed them before turning to the mermaid.

"Rose?", Harley asked, waving a hand in front of Rose's eyes. "Are you alright?"

"You just ended the fight.", Rose sputtered. Harley beamed. "I thought not even the gods could've ended it."

"Yeah, uh, I'm… Part god, or something? My dog was a god, and after a bunch of experiments that blew off my island, we… Fused, I think. I have no idea. What matters is that hey, They're not fighting anymore!"

Rose touched Jade's shoulders, looking in the girl's green eyes.

"Had you not been wearing that helmet, I could've kissed you.", she said, and Harley grinned.

"Let's save that to when we're not underwater!", she chirped, picking Rose's hand and making their way to where the submarine had been stationed. Rose was well aware that They were following them, but she figured that when Rose and Jade reached land, They'd go back to Their fighting.

"Beside that,", Harley continued, the smile still on her face if her voice was any indication. ", you used to play with me when I wasn't part dog. I couldn't possibly let you get killed!"

Rose blinked.

"You were the girl from the island? I had thought…"

As Harley had previously mentioned, the island has blown off. Maybe that was why she hadn't found it when she looked, back while she ran away. Rose shook her head, and let a smile take her lips as the two of them went back to land.

Hours later, Rose breathed air for the first time in hours, and hoistered herself to the pier as Harley took off her helmet, letting the dark mane of hair flow free like some terrible ad for television. Harley sat by Rose's side as English picked up the samples, and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Jade Harley, and I like to break fight between underwater beings.", she said, and Rose chuckled.

"Rose Lalonde.", Rose offered, as Jade touched Rose's wet face, going to kiss her. A scream, however, cut their time, as Rose looked to the water and found Them looking at Jade like lost puppies. She groaned, and Jade laughed, intertwining fingers with Rose.

"Aw, I guess they liked us! Can we keep Them?", she asked, a smile on her face, and Rose simply sighed.


End file.
